Based on my social media timeline Color Rush Keenan Allen Jersey , it seems a large segment of the Los Angeles Chargers fan base is convinced Hunter Henry is going to play at some point in 2018. This, of course, is being fueled by the fact that Henry, who tore his ACL on May 22, has yet to be placed on the Injured Reserve some ten weeks after sustaining the injury. The assumption here is that the team would have already placed him on the IR if they planned to do so, which obviously means he’s going to play this season.I, for one, don’t believe this is the case. Regardless of how quickly the team placed Jason Verrett and Austin Roberts on IR after their season-ending injuries, there is no immediate need to do the same with Henry. In my opinion, this is all probably best explained by looking first at the NFL calendar, and then examining the league’s IR rules.As far as the NFL calendar goes, teams no longer have to worry about cutting players during the preseason. Every NFL team has the flexibility of carrying a full 90-man roster through the end of the preseason, which means there is no immediate need to clear a roster spot, or even manage the roster. Once they get through the preseason, teams are required to announce their final cuts by September 1.It actually makes sense to wait until final cuts to place Hunter on Injured Reserve Why? Because doing so gives them an easy roster chip they can manipulate as needed should they add someone after announcing the 53-man roster. Rather than exposing someone they might want to keep to waivers, they can simply create a roster spot by moving Hunter to IR.This tactic should sound familiar because they did it with Denzel Perryman in 2017. As you may recall, Denzel injured his ankle in the preseason opener. Like Henry, he was not immediately placed on Injured Reserve. In fact Youth Russell Okung Jersey , he made the team’s initial 53-man roster before being transferred to IR in order to make room for Kellen Clemens, who was cut and ultimately re-signed the following day in a cap-related move. In other words, they effectively kept a roster spot open for Clemens by delaying the inevitable with Perryman.What’s more, being placed on IR doesn’t necessarily preclude a player from returning to the active roster during the season. The NFL has two versions of the Injured Reserve: the Injured Reserve and the Injured Reserve – Return Designation. The return designation means exactly what you think it means – Hunter would be eligible to return to the active roster later in the season.Here is how it works: the Chargers would have to place Hunter Henry on the IR with a return designation by 4pm EST on September 1. Assuming they do that, he would be eligible to return to practice after spending six weeks on the Injured Reserve. Additionally, he would be eligible to return to the active roster within eight weeks of being placed on IR.There is no advantage to leaving him on the active roster when they can place him on the Injured Reserve with a designation to return. They could, in theory, add him to the active roster by week nine of the regular season AND have an able-bodied tight end occupy his spot on the active roster while he mends. There is no financial or strategic advantage to keeping Henry on the roster when he is unable to play, which is why the team won’t go that route.It’s important to keep in mind that Hunter Henry sustained his injury on May 22, which means he probably won’t be physically able to return to practice or game action until November at the absolute earliest. And, assuming he makes it back in November, he would probably only be available in a very limited role.The only other viable option for dealing with a long-term injury is the reserve/PUP list. If added to the reserve/PUP list, Hunter would be ineligible to practice or play with the team for six weeks. Once those six weeks are up, the team would have an additional six-week window to decide whether to activate Hunter, transfer him to the Injured Reserve, or release him (they obviously wouldn’t release him). Once he returns to practice, the team would have six weeks to either add him to the active roster or place him on Injured Reserve.Assuming Henry is expected to return, the Injured Reserve with a return designation is the more prudent way to go here. It allows them to keep him without using a valuable 53-man roster spot and Youth Dan Feeney Jersey , most importantly, he could theoretically return to the active roster anytime between weeks 9 and 17 without having the week 12 deadline looming over them, as it would with the PUP.Is Hunter Henry going to come back this season? No one really knows that right now, including the Chargers. But I do know this much: the fact that he been placed on the Injured Reserve yet isn’t an indication of the team’s plans either way. They simply aren’t in any immediate rush, or under any mandate, to do anything with him until September 1.Not only that, but I’m confident the delay in adding him is not an indication that he won’t be added. I would be stunned if he didn’t wind up on the IR by 4pm EST on September 1. It would be foolish to carry someone the team knows won’t play until at least November on the active roster and, regardless of their plans, placing him on Injured Reserve is the definition of Roster Management 101. It’s all but inevitable.Not even the Chargers are incompetent enough to botch this. (Kidding鈥ort of鈥?Unanswered depth chart questions As we inch closer to the regular season, there are some questions about the depth chart that remain unanswered. The Chargers have a week and a half, including 2 preseason games, to get it figured out. I already went over the tight position battles yesterday, but there are some other questions near the top of the depth chart that also need answering.What is the team going to do at TE? Virgil Green is obviously TE1, and by all appearances Sean Culkin is TE2, but none of the TEs have stood out this preseason. The games don’t seem to be helping either. Through 2 preseason games all of the TE’s combined only have 11 targets. If you take away the 3 targets for Green who is cemented in at TE1, there have been 8 targets to the TEs that are actually trying to earn a spot. Practice is one thing, but the Chargers are going to need to gameplan some more looks for this TE group because they need to figure out if they need to throw money at Gates to come out of retirement before the regular season. Who are going to be the starters at Safety? And Where? Until this week of practice, 1st round pick Derwin James had been playing with the 2nd/3rd team units on defense. He is now finally playing with the 1st team and figures to be in the Strong Safety spot. Although it seems in the joint practice today it seems he was deep a lot of the time when Jahleel Addae was on the field http://www.authenticlosangeleschargers.com/cheap-brandon-mebane-jersey , then moved up in the box more when Rayshawn Jenkins was on the field. Which leaves Free Safety. What is the team going to do there? Addae is a talented safety, but Free Safety isn’t really his best position, as evidenced by the 2 big receptions he gave up in preseason week 2. Watkins, who was getting 1st team snaps in week 2, tore his ACL in the game and is gone. Rayshawn Jenkins is the other option and is still kind of an unknown. Regardless, it is likely going to be Jahleel Addae starting at FS due to the contract he currently has. Who is going to backup Philip Rivers?Hopefully there isn’t actually much of a question here. Head Coach Anthony Lynn has verbally supported Cardale Jones multiple times, and after yesterday’s practice Offensive Coordinator Ken Whisenhunt also said that the race is basically even, however based on both their practice and game performance, Geno Smith is looking like the superior QB. The game this week will likely be Jones’ last chance to make a statement, but this competition is likely over. Will Forrest Lamp be ready for week 1?Forrest Lamp finally resumed practicing this week after going down early last offseason. The hopes were that Lamp would come in and be an instant starter on the Chargers OL. He is finally back now, but he is essentially still a rookie. He was working with the 2nd team in the team period today in the first joint practice with the New Orleans Saints, and following practice the way Lynn talked about him, it doesn’t sound like he’s considered 100% yet. Sure it’s not the end of the world if Michael Schofield is starting at RG week 1, but it sure would be nice to have the 2nd round pick and potential All-Pro there instead.